By SDCN Staff
Two Spring Valley men connected to a drug trafficking organization pleaded guilty last week to charges stemming from a 2022 murder in Miami, Florida, federal prosecutors confirmed.
Tsvia Kol, 37, of Hallandale, Florida, and Jimmy Sanchez, 37, face up to life imprisonment for their crimes.
“This case illustrates that drugs and violence go hand in hand,” said Assistant Attorney General Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “As part of their drug operation, these defendants shipped large amounts of methamphetamine, and when they thought the victim stole their product, they killed him in cold blood.”
Court documents and statements made in court show that the defendants admitted to murdering a Miami man in connection with a missing package containing about 11 pounds of methamphetamine, the street value of which totaled approximately $90,000. Kol and Sanchez believed that the victim stole the package of drugs. In retaliation, Kol and Sachez met the victim in a hotel room. Kol armed Sanchez with a firearm. While inside the room, the victim called 911 and attempted to provide his location, but the audio of the call portrayed a physical altercation ensuing and gunshots being fired. Sanchez admitted that he shot and killed the victim in the hotel room and left his body, which was not discovered until the following morning. Hotel security footage revealed Kol and Sanchez fleeing the property after the murder.
As part of their plea agreements, the defendants admitted that they each committed the murder and that they distributed almost 11 pounds of methamphetamine. Their sentencing hearings are scheduled to take place later this year.
“These guilty pleas lay bare the deadly reality of drug trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “This was a cold-blooded murder driven by the drug trade, where intimidation and greed turned narcotics trafficking into violence and death. Our Office will use every federal tool available to dismantle these organizations and hold accountable anyone who chooses violence as a means of doing business.”
“Illegal drug trafficking inherently results in violence which is inflicted by the criminal drug networks that distribute them,” said Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office. “The impact on our communities is real and devastating.”
The DEA, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the Miami Dade Sheriff’s Office, the Hialeah Police Department, and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
